


Filling the Gap

by RobinRoost



Series: Surviving Apart, but Living Together [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bender Obi-Wan Kenobi, Fluff, Fluff and minor angst, Force Bond (Star Wars), Gen, Hugs for Obi-Wan, Jedi Council - Freeform, Mentioned Isolation, Platonic Cuddling, Quin and Obi are buddies, Quinlan makes worried friend noises, Tired Mace Windu, We don't really like Qui-Gon Jinn, Yoda is a Troll, climbing out windows, literally and metaphorically, sorry - Freeform, watching the sun rise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:13:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27036988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinRoost/pseuds/RobinRoost
Summary: Obi-Wan woke up to warmth. That was odd. Normally it was so cold in the room. Maybe it was an after effect of the wonderful dream he had, where he was free and saw Quinlan again. Blinking open his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling. It took him two seconds to figure out why.It hadn’t been a dream.The thought hit him almost as hard as when he had stepped out of the door. It seemed so impossible, but yet it was. Obi-Wan was free. He was free and never going back into that room again.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker (mentioned), Obi-Wan Kenobi & Quinlan Vos, Vokara Che & Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: Surviving Apart, but Living Together [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969477
Comments: 44
Kudos: 406





	Filling the Gap

Obi-Wan woke up to warmth. That was odd. Normally it was so cold in the room. Maybe it was an after effect of the wonderful dream he had, where he was free and saw Quinlan again. Blinking open his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling. It took him two seconds to figure out why. 

_ It hadn’t been a dream. _

The thought hit him almost as hard as when he had stepped out of the door. It seemed so impossible, but yet it was. Obi-Wan was free. He was free and never going back into that room again. 

Eagerly stretching out his senses as far as he could go, Obi-Wan soaked in all the response he was getting. Judging by the very quiet force signatures in the temple and dark room, it was probably some time early in the morning cycle. A small thrill ran through him at the thought of seeing the sun rise again.

The twi’lek, which he learned to be Knight-now-Master-Che, had demanded that he stay at least one night in the Halls of Healing to make sure that he was in healthy condition, which he was. To take a break from the waiting and bending, Obi-Wan had a strict physical regiment. Not to mention, the motions required for bending were their own form of exercise. 

As he moved to get out of the cot, Obi-Wan realized where the warmth was coming from. Quinlan made some incoherent grumbling noise as he clung tighter to Obi-Wan’s torso, forcing him to stay put. They must have fallen asleep together last night. 

Obi-Wan smiled. He savored the feeling for as long as he could before tapping Quinlan to try and get him awake. 

_ QUIN _

He received a groan in response. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes fondly, and tapped him again.

_ QUIN _

Still nothing. Obi-Wan opened up their bond, taking only a moment to relish the sensation, before slapping Quinlan’s conscience. Quin jerked up in an instant and Obi-Wan let out a small giggle at the startled look ( _ he could see the expression! _ ) on his friend’s face. 

“What was that for?” Quin yelped. Obi-Wan made a shushing gesture, and jerked his head towards the door. 

_ SUNRISE _ he tapped out. Quinlan’s expression softened and he nodded. 

They slipped off the bed and Obi-Wan thrilled at the feeling of the cold stone against his feet. Quinlan gestured for Obi-Wan to follow him. They made their way through empty passage ways and to a set of spiraling stairs that he hadn’t remembered. Before Quin started walking up them, Obi-Wan put a hand out to stop him.

_ WAIT  _ he tapped. 

He slid his foot to the side and the center of the stairs became perfectly smooth as the edges collapsed down. Reaching out and pulling his arms to his chest, a wide stair jutted out and Obi-Wan stepped up on it. Quinlan followed without a moment’s hesitation. 

Pulling the ledge up the ramp was easier than Obi-Wan remembered it being. The task that had once been so difficult and caused him so much trouble had become nearly effortless as they slid up the ramp he had created.

Once they got to the top, Obi-Wan lowered the step back down, and reverted it to their original state. Quinlan grinned and pulled him forward. He let out a small laugh as he was dragged towards the windows. 

The tower had glass windows on every side. He could see the temple grounds and the rest of Coruscant. He could see the sky, and… Quinlan’s end of the bond suddenly became very giddy. Obi-Wan turned around slowly.

Oh force.

Quin had opened the window and was currently climbing through it outside onto the top of the tower. Of course he was. And there was no way that Obi-Wan was going to let him do it by himself. Grinning like a child, he followed Quinlan outside and into the fresh air. The outside didn’t offer many hand holds itself, but he managed. 

A warm hand reached down, and Obi-Wan grabbed it eagerly, letting Quinlan pull him up, feeling the way the bond lit up with contact. The sky was still dark, but some red, yellow, and blue peeking up over the horizon. 

Obi-Wan settled against Quinlan as they sat down to watch the sky lighten. Force, he couldn’t get over how large it was. Years of confined space had not prepared him for the expansiveness. It was almost methodical to watch the clouds turn pink. The stars faded away to allow for a bright blue and yellow to color the world. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Quinlan murmured. 

“Yes,” Obi-Wan breathed, his voice still scratchy from disuse. 

Quinlan looked over at him with a happy smirk and Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

Talking was… well, he didn’t really know. He hadn’t been completely mute for however long he was trapped. He would hum any songs he could remember or talk to himself or describe whatever he was doing to fill the silence if it got too much. It was just that the only way he had communicated to the outside world was by Morse Code. 

It felt strange to communicate in any other way.

Hopefully not for long, though. He wanted to have real conversations again.

The wind whistled around them and Obi-Wan shivered. Summoning a little bit of fire, he let it hang in the air in front of them spreading its warmth, but not too close to burn. Quinlan smiled at it. 

“You’ve gotten better,” he commented. Obi-Wan snorted.

_ YOU THINK I WOULDN’T PRACTICE?  _ he tapped.

They sat in silence for who knows how long. The sunrise was so slow, but Obi-Wan could hardly tear his eyes away. Every second he spent watching it change colors reaffirmed that this wasn’t a dream. This was real. 

  
Eventually the sun was up and they had to go back. Obi-Wan sighed as he extinguished the fire and they climbed back through the window. They walked down the stairs and towards the Halls of Healing side by side. It felt so right to be back at Quinlan’s side. He waited for just one moment to capture this moment, before moving forward. 

It was almost as if they had never been apart.

\-----------------------------------------------

Healer Che had not been happy with their escape from medical, but that didn’t matter too much. What did matter was that he could see and feel her frustration. It curled around her in frustrated swirls, but there was honest worry beneath it. Despite himself, Obi-Wan smiled. 

After going off for five minutes, she took a deep breath. 

“The Jedi Council wants to see you whenever you are ready,” she sighed.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and nodded. 

_ GO NOW? _ He tapped.

Quinlan translated and Healer Che nodded. Obi-Wan took another deep breath. _In. Out. In. Out._ Focusing on the image of the sunset that he had just left, he forced himself to be calm. _In. Out._ _In. Out._ He could feel Quin sending his silent support, and Obi-Wan let his thanks slip back out as they exited the medbay.

He could do this. It was alright. They were just people. He had survived worse. 

_ What if they think that Master Jinn was right? _

His blood froze. 

No. They wouldn’t. They were Jedi Masters.

_ So was Master Jinn. _

No. Master Jinn was wrong. They had to see that.

_ They let him have a padawan. _

Obi-Wan didn’t know all the facts regarding that. It could be because of some reason that he just didn't have the context for.

_ But-- _

No. There was no way in the force that they could make Obi-Wan go back. He would not go back. He had just gotten free. He would kill before he went back there. 

The inner voice quieted at the pronouncement. 

  
Quinlan gave him a worried look, but Obi-Wan ignored it in favor of taking a few deep breaths. _In. Out._ _In. Out._ It was a scary thought, but he knew it to be true. As he got closer to the Council doors, the more his heart started to pound. The ground began to rumble slightly. No. He couldn’t lose control. Obi-Wan desperately searched for something to ground him. 

Obi-Wan blindly reached towards Quinlan, grabbing his arm. He focused on the feeling of touching Quin’s arm. The soft skin. The warmth that spread through his fingertips. The tension. The bond glowing.  _ In. Out. In. Out.  _ The rumbling stopped.

“Obi-Wan, are you sure you are ready for this?” Quinlan asked, concern coloring his voice.

Concentrate on the sunrise. Think of the sky. Feel the Force. Focus on the bond. You aren’t alone any more and you aren’t going back. 

_ YES _ he tapped, too anxious to speak the words.

Quin nodded and everyone walked forward. The padawan at the door stared at them for a moment, but gestured for them to go inside. Obi-Wan managed a smile that he hoped wasn’t too much like a grimace before entering. 

He had only been in the Jedi Council Chamber three times before the room. Entering was like a step into the past. The same anxiety and nervousness that had plagued him when he entered so long ago was back. Force, he wasn’t a teenager anymore. He was… how long did they say he was trapped? He was thirty something. He had control over his emotions. 

The faces of the Masters were completely neutral, and Obi-Wan bowed after seeing Quin start to bend. Right. That was what he was supposed to do.

“Masters,” Quinlan acknowledged. Obi-Wan inclined his head, not trusting himself to speak. 

Yoda smiled. “Good to see you, it is, Knight Vos. Helpful your information was. And good to see free, Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

Force, Obi-Wan could barely restrain himself from breaking down. He had missed Yoda’s comforting presence that seemed to wrap you in a hug of warmth and light. Yoda had visited him from time to time, sharing a few tales of impertinent younglings from hundreds of years ago.

Those had always been amusing visits.

_ HELLO _ he tapped, feeling a little more at ease. 

Quinlan smirked. “Obi-Wan says hello. His voice isn’t particularly strong yet,” he explained. 

The face of every single counselor darkened at once at the reminder of his captivity. It darkened the air in the room, and Obi-Wan panicked slightly. He had dropped his shields earlier and hadn’t put them back up again. It allowed him to feel the force more completely, but it also made him more vulnerable to the darker emotions. 

_ CONTINUE? _

Quin cleared his throat. “He’s asking if we can continue.” Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. 

_ SHIELDS DOWN _ he tapped in explanation. Quin nodded and relayed the information. Several council members looked away sheepishly. The Togruta (Was that Padawan Ti?) leaned forward.

“How do you feel?” she asked. Obi-Wan smiled softly.

_ NEVER BEEN BETTER  _ he tapped. The tension seemed to leave her shoulders when Quin translated.

“I don’t mean to sound unhappy that you are here, Obi-Wan,” and Master (Windu? Names were fuzzy). “but you are here, which means that Master Jinn is dead.”

(They all pretended not to hear Quinlan mutter “Good riddance.”)

Windu sighed as he continued, “Skwalker’s report came in two hours ago, and they are en route to aid Christophsis with the 501st and 212th by order of the Chancellor.” Judging the way he said the word Chancellor, he didn’t have a very good opinion of the man. “They should be arriving in about a standard week. The issue still stands that we now have an entire battalion without a General, and we don’t have another jedi for the vode.”

Obi-Wan’s breath caught in his throat.  _ Anakin. _

Anakin was out there. 

He could see his face and hear his unmuffled voice.

Obi-Wan was almost so swept away with that thought that he barely caught the comment that Padawan-now-Master Billaba made. 

“They will all need a resupply for the troops,” she said, tucking her arms into her sleeves. 

Obi-Wan’s heart stopped. An idea was forming. It was an absolutely awful idea, especially considering the fact that he had only spent a grand total of maybe 24 hours outside of the room, but he didn’t care. It would allow him to get out of the temple, see Anakin, and have a purpose again.

Quinlan whipped his head towards him, and Obi-Wan blushed as he realized that he must have absentmindedly started tapping out his plan. 

“Oh no you don’t,” Quin growled. “I lost you for 23 years. You are not going to disappear on me again.”

The councilors looked confused. “What did he say?” the Cerean asked, but Quinlan ignored him.

“That is an awful idea. You are going to get yourself killed!” he exclaimed. “When was the last time you even used a lightsaber?”

_ DONT NEED ONE BUT PRACTICE ON THE WAY? _

“You  _ idiot _ .” 

_ JUST RESUPPLY _

_ “ _ It’s a _ warzone.” _

Obi-Wan snorted. It was a galaxy wide war. Everywhere was a potential warzone.

“Please don’t tell me that they are talking about what I think they are talking about,” murmured one of the councilors. 

_ U COME WITH? _

Quinlan paused at that one, but shook his head. “ _ No. _ That is better, but not enough to justify you… agh!”

“Please,” Obi-Wan whispered, the noise tickling his throat. Everyone startled at the sound of his voice. 

Obi-Wan _needed_ to see Anakin. He waited _years_. Besides, he was free. He could do good. He could help people again. He could finally have a purpose back in his life. He didn't want to spend any more time waiting for things to happen. He wanted to go out and do them because for the first time in decades, _he could._

Quin bit the bottom of his lip, before snorting. 

“Fine, but if they don’t agree, you aren’t going to do something rash.” Obi-Wan nodded his agreement. Quinlan turned to the rest of the council. “This is a terrible idea,” he muttered, before projecting his voice. “He wants to do the resupply.”

There was a mix of reactions. Some were shocked, others were unsurprised, a few were worried, but Yoda just stared at him. Obi-Wan returned the look unfazed. The green troll let out a chuckle and slammed his glimmer stick on the floor to silence the council.

“If Obi-Wan desires, then to aid Skywalker, he shall go. Knight Vos, accompany him, you will,” Yoda announced. “Sense the force, you can. Feel it guiding young Kenobi to Christophsis, you can.”

There were still unhappy noises, and Obi-Wan could understand them, but he was more focused on seeing Anakin. The thought almost made him giddy. He was going to see him.

The boy from Tatooine.

Who told him of angels and podracing.

Who sometimes sang his mother’s lullabies.

Who sometimes struggled with the jedi way of life, but always pushed himself to succeed.

He was so lost in his excitement, that he almost missed Yoda’s final statement.

“Join you, Skywalker’s new padawan will.”

**Author's Note:**

> You know what I discovered? There is a surprisingly extensive legends wookieepedia page on Star Wars alcohol with information on the dangers of drinking, restriction laws, effects on certain species, and other such things. There is even a short paragraph relating to droids and alcohol. Who knew? Ya learn something new every day.
> 
> OUR FAVORITE TOGRUTA IS COMING. YODA IS A TROLL. QUIN CAVES TO OBI-WAN'S PUPPY EYES (but really wouldn't everyone?)
> 
> SO YES we are on our way forward with PLOT. Crazy, right?
> 
> Also, Palpatine very purposefully made sure that Anakin was off onto the next mission directly after Qui-Gon's death. He doesn't know about Obi-Wan, but he is trying to push Anakin so he doesn't have enough time to mourn and feel the sadness, but instead turn it to rage that will help turn Skywalker into the perfect little sith apprentice. I hate him.
> 
> Thank you for all the feed back! I hope some of this fluff was helpful to alleviate some of yesterday's angst.


End file.
